Anandghan, also rendered as Anand Ghan, was an Udasi writer active in the late 18th and early 19th century who authored Vedantic-influenced commentaries on the Guru Granth Sahib. Anandghan believed Sri Chand was the true successor of Guru Nanak and an incarnation of God.[1] Anandghan was at one point the teacher of Santokh Singh. In 1795, Anandghan authored a commentary on the Japji Sahib composition that aligned with the dharmaśastras and claimed that Guru Nanak acknowledged the Indic deities' power. Anandghan's commentaries have been criticized as inaccurate and misleading, especially by his former disciple Santokh Singh.[2] Santokh Singh's Garab Ganjani Teeka was written to counter Anandghan's claim that Guru Nanak recognized six gurus in his Japji composition and Anandghan's esoteric interpretation of gurbani.[3][4] In 1970, the teeka of Anandghan was published by the Languages Department of the Punjab government.[5]
References
edit- ↑ Bhogal, Balbinder. Shaw, Elliott; Pye, Michael (eds.). "Udasis". Philtar (Overview Of World Religions). Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ Fenech, L. E. (2020). The Image of Guru Nanak in Dadu-Panthi Sources. Religions, 11(10), 518. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100518. Retrieved on 7 May 2026 from: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/10/518
- ↑ Singh, Pashaura (2003). "5. Nirmala Pranali". The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authority. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199087730.
The origin of the Nirmala sect within the Panth is obscure, although there is some evidence that it existed during the Misal period in the late eighteenth century. There is no evidence to support the traditional claim that Guru Gobind Singh himself deputed five Sikhs to Kashi for Sanskritic learning. The first recognized Nirmala scholar was Kavi Santokh Singh, who wrote the celebrated works Nanak Prakash and Suraj Prakash in the first half of the nineteenth century. He also wrote a commentary on Japji, popularly known as Garbganjani Tika, 'A Commentary to Humble the Pride [of Udasi Anandghan].' Santokh Singh took strong exception to Anandghan's interpretation that Guru Nanak acknowledged six Gurus in a line from Japji. He was also strongly critical of the esoteric interpretation of gurbani presented in the Udasi work. It appears that the scriptural interpretation was one focus of conflict among various sects within the Panth in the nineteenth century. Like Udasis, however, the Nirmala scholars were equally inclined towards Vedantic interpretations of gurbani. They maintained that gurbani was essentially an expression of the Vedic teachings in the current vernacular language (bhakha). In his commentary on Japji, for instance, Santokh Singh frequently employed the Puranic myths and examples from the Vedas to make a point. Basically, he interpreted certain key Sikh doctrines from a brahminical perspective.
- ↑ "About Kavi Ji & 'Garab Ganjanee' Introduction". Sikh Translations. Aaeenaa. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ↑ Ghan, Anand (1970). Jaggi, Rattan Singh; Singh, Gopal (eds.). Gurabāṇī ṭīkē: Ānada-ghana ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਟੀਕੇ : ਆਨੰਦ-ਘਨ [Gurbani Exegesis: Anand-Ghan] (PDF) (in Punjabi). Patiala, India: Language Department [Bhasha Bhawan], Government of Punjab.